Emmys 2012: Comedy Showrunners Roundtable

Relating to their Characters: Comedy Showrunners Roundtable

Carter Bays of How I Met Your Mother and Steve Levitan reveal how they relate to a couple of their main characters.

Steve added, "At first I thought, “OK, I am Phil Dunphy, we did a couple of episodes in the beginning that were very specific to me, and then as time has gone on, I have realized that I am really Claire. I am the uptight neurotic woman overthinking everything, and my wife lives in the moment and is happy and doing fun, goofy things with the kids. I am the one saying, We have to get her ready for bed. It’s not a realization that I am particularly happy with."

Writing a Show with a Co-Showrunner: Comedy Showrunner Roundtable

Emmy nominated Bill Prady of The Big Bang Theory reveals what is like working with his co-writers on the hit CBS show.

"When you have somebody that shares the responsibility to run the show and at Big Bang I share that responsibility with Steve Molaro and Chuck Lorre. In a dispute, you can back off and get something better. The two things that happen in the writers room are laughter and passionate arguing", added Bill. 

How do you Deal with Stress?: Comedy Showrunners Roundtable

From drinking during the day to prescription drugs to riding a bike around the lot, our showrunners each let us know how they handle stress. Up All Night showrunner Emily Spivey said, "I do always try to exercise and sleep."

Steve Levitan added, "I bought myself a studio-lot bike this year. And I’m like a child, so happy on it. I want to put baseball cards in the spokes. I ride it around the lot and look like an idiot. And people are like, There’s our boss looking like a 12-year-old, but I always come back feeling better."

Comedy Showrunners: Full Uncensored Interview

Full uncensored interview with Carter Bays How I Met Your Mother, Bill Prady The Big Bang Theory, Liz Meriwether New Girl, Paul Lieberstein The Office, Steve Levitan Modern Family, and Emily Spivey Up All Night.